Chef Hussain Shahzad
The Recipes
Barley & Jowar salad
Threadfin bream ceviche, mango water pickle, coconut broth, puffed red rice
About the Dishes
Barley & Jowar salad is based on the use of millets and heritage Indian grains.
Threadfin bream ceviche, mango water pickle, coconut broth, puffed red rice is based on the principle Curry & Rice and debunks myths of authentic Indian cuisine. We’ll discuss diverse seafood practices and marine ecosystem conservation on the west coast of India.
What you’ll need!
(Don’t worry if you don’t have the ingredients. You are welcome to join in and take notes!)
Find detailed instructions here!
Barley and Jowar Salad
Equipment: Knife, mixing bowls, hand blender
Plateware: Small nappy bowls
Menu Category: Chhota
Cooked Barley (approx. portions)
1 kg Barley
To taste Salt
Large pot Water
Cooked Broken Wheat (approx. portions)
1 kg Broken wheat/ Laapsi
½ cup Oil
To taste Salt
Large pot Water
Tomato Water (yields 1 liter/4 cups)
8 kg ripe tomatoes
2.4 kg peeled onions, diced
100 gm garlic cloves
1 cup coriander seeds, toasted
500 g coriander stems, cleaned
To taste Salt
Threadfin bream poke with raw mango & coconut
60 gms Fluke / red snapper/ threadfin bream cubes
1 tbsp Onion brunoise
1 tbsp coriander stems
2 tbsp Tender Coconut malai/flesh
Red chili oil to finish
Puffed red rice (Garnish)
For the dressing:
300g Raw mango ferment (recipe below)
8gThai red chillies
3 cansCoconut milk
100g red onions
15g garlic
50g Cilantro stems
Lime juice
Salt
Sugar
Raw Mango Ferment:
5kg Green Mangoes, sliced
600g Sliced Onions
5g Sliced Ginger
15 cups packaged drinking water/non-chlorinated tap water
10 tbsp Salt
20no Garlic
About Hussain Shahzad
Chef Hussain Shahzad brings his signature blend of curiosity, high energy, and global experience as Executive Chef at Hunger Inc. Hospitality Pvt Ltd, (The Bombay Canteen & O Pedro). Passionate about cooking since a young age, Hussain spent his growing up years in Chennai where his tryst with the kitchen began with a simple omelet sandwich. His love for food grew over the years with sessions in the kitchen after school, cooking up fun evening snacks for his younger brother. This led him on the path of gastronomy, and he joined the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal, Karnataka, in 2005. After graduating, he worked with The Oberoi Group of Hotels as a Senior Kitchen Executive at Frangipani, Mumbai, before moving to New York in early 2014. He spent a year at Eleven Madison Park, the famed New York restaurant, where he developed and refined his culinary techniques. Coupled with his passion for food is his love for adventure – and this took Hussain on a culinary journey across several countries including Portugal, the USA, and Turkey, with a brief stint as personal chef to tennis star Roger Federer.
Hussain had a deep yearning to return to India to be a part of the fast-changing food scene in the country. Around this time, the Hunger Inc. team was looking for a senior chef for their first venture -The Bombay Canteen. In late 2015, Hussain returned to India and joined The Bombay Canteen as Sous Chef. Having played a significant role in the success of The Bombay Canteen, it was but natural for Hussain to helm the company’s next restaurant venture - O Pedro, which opened in Mumbai in October 2017. Hussain has made a significant contribution to the success of opening and driving concepts at O Pedro. Continuous innovation, rooted in the culinary cultures of Goa and Portugal, has won Hussain several accolades. In February 2020, the O Pedro team led by Chef Hussain took to New York City, Goa’s unique cuisine peppered with its Portuguese influences, with the fourth restaurant-in-residence program at Intersect by Lexus. After serving as Executive Chef O Pedro successfully for four years, he moved into the role of Executive Chef, Hunger Inc to oversee both The Bombay Canteen and O Pedro.
Blending traditions, techniques and flavors is what Hussain imbibed from his mentor – the late Chef Floyd Cardoz. There is more that left a lasting impression on him – a deep desire to mentor a new generation of chefs, imparting knowledge on how errors bring the opportunity to enhance skills, using heirloom recipes and reimagining them on a plate and digging deeper, as opposed to looking wider. Hussain’s food philosophy is simple – showcase local produce using contemporary culinary techniques that inspire future generations of chefs to cook smarter. He constantly strives to explore seasonal ingredients and extract the best possible flavors and marry them with technique to present quirk and mischief on a plate. Outside of the kitchen, Hussain enjoys making cocktails and nothing gives his creative culinary talent greater fuel than long runs along Mumbai’s seacoast.
- “I want to see every guest excited about the food they eat. I am committed to continuously create and innovate – to make food the hero of the restaurant experience.”